Why Televisions Should Be Unplugged

Why Televisions Should Be Unplugged

I believe all the televisions in America should be unplugged, and
we should become a nomadic, goat-herding race- well, maybe not the
part about the goat herding. Anyway, television programming is
corrupting our youths' minds; they are being stupefied and are becoming
virtual vegetables as they are molded by the programs they view to be
lazy, selfish, and to forsake all their moral and ethical values. The so
called "entertainment value" to the shows is what's hurting us; kids mimic
what they see on t.v., which includes violence, murder, rape, etc.
Children's grades drop drastically when tuning in to their favorite
cartoon takes priority over completing their math or other schoolwork. The
effects may also carry over into the next day, when they re-enact their
favorite scene of the previous night's episode of Power Rangers on the
playground, often resulting in the injury of several poor kids. Obviously
such programs are counter-productive to the educational process.
Teen violence is on the rise at an exponential rate. Many teens
watch action movies such as Terminator and its sequel or the Die Hard
trilogy and conjure up bright ideas to go vandalizing or attacking
innocent people. This is especially true when speaking of the gang
situation that is currently plaguing our nation. Before the era of the
television, crime like the kind we now have was virtually non-existent.
Obesity is another indirectly related effect of television on our
bodies for people of all ages. The term "couch potato" adequately suits
people who would rather watch Cindy Crawford tone and firm her buns
than get off theirs. If there's a welt in you favorite spot on the couch that
is a perfect outline of your backside, it's a good indicator that you need
to get out and do something.
An awkward issue I want to discuss deals with programs with adult
content and their accessibility to children. They are learning vitally
important issues like the "bird & bees" and other things regarded as taboo
from the "boob tube." That's not the problem, though. The real problem is
that they're not learning it the right way; parents should be the ones to
explain it. This is why we have such a high rate of teen pregnancy,
sexually transmitted diseases, rapes, etc. Television "cheapens" the
meaning of these sacred acts as well.
In conclusion, I believe television is destroying our culture and will
eventually lead to our demise. We are on a collision course with chaos,
and pulling the plug is our only salvation. It's up to you.